Long Live
by sunnyprincessbird
Summary: The story of how Eugene brought back the Lost Princess after discovering her. My take on how they got from the tower to the castle's balcony, and a few days afterwards. Inspired by Long Live by Taylor Swift.
1. Hold on to Spinning Around

**A/N: Hey all! So, I've been wanting to do a chaptered story for a while, and well, this is what came out of it! Thanks to my "Charmed Light" reviewers who voted that I do this one first! I know this has been done many times before, but I wanted to do my own interpretation of it! Because they didn't just show up on the castle's balcony. Unless the whole tear-healing thing gave them magic teleporting powers...:) This is going to include Eugene and Rapunzel's journey back to the kingdom, their first few days there, and will be ended with a song fic. Long Live by Taylor Swift, to be exact. And just to let you know, this follows the storyline in "Charmed Light" (Rapunzel's sister, Rose, etc. etc.), probably all my stories will. Anyway, hope you all like it! **

"Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed in excitement, breaking off their first kiss and pushing herself backward, to see him, to make sure it really was him for the hundredth time.

Eugene smiled up at her.

She enveloped him in another hug as she breathed, "Oh, Eugene, I thought you'd left me!"

Eugene pulled back and looked into her eyes seriously.

"Rapunzel, I'd _never_ leave you alone." He promised her. "And you know what?"

"What?" Rapunzel whispered, leaning into his chest, listening to his heartbeat, in amazement that it was beating again and silently willing it to never stop again. Eugene adjusted her on his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

"I am _so_ sorry for leaving you. Both times. I didn't mean to leave you, Rapunzel, I am _so sorry_. And I never plan on leaving you again." He explained sincerely, looking into her eyes and wiping away a stray tear that looked very out of place on her joyous face with his thumb.

And then Eugene knew he couldn't contain his happiness any longer. He was with Rapunzel, a Rapunzel who no longer had to worry about ruffians, thugs, or any person cutting, selling, or using her hair, and there was nothing stopping them from being able to be together forever. He grinned and stood up before Rapunzel could respond to his apology, reaching out his hand to help her up.

"What?" Rapunzel asked softly, smiling.

"Nothing." Eugene said, shaking his head and still smiling.

Unexpectedly, he picked her up and twirled her around. Rapunzel felt giddy, giggling and feeling the wind rush through her newly cut hair and her dress fluttering at her ankles. The world around her spun in circles, but her eyes were focused on one thing: the man in front of her. The man who had just died for her, the man who cut her hair and freed her from captivity. The first man she met, the man she hit over the head with a frying pan and stuffed in her closet. The man who had taken her to see the lights she had been dreaming about for as long as she could remember. The man who now claimed the title of her new dream. Eugene set her bare feet back on the ground carefully before she embraced him yet again, truly bursting with happiness.

"But what even…just happened here?" Eugene asked in an amazed voice.

Rapunzel smiled and gave a little laugh.

"I don't really even think I know. I…I was crying, and I started singing the song again. I just didn't know what else to do, that song fixed everything my whole life, until now. And…I think a tear fell on your cheek, because I looked up, and there was this glowing light filling up the room, and it looked like it was healing you. And then, well, you woke up." She answered slowly, smiling at her last sentence.

Eugene smiled and shook his head in amazement.

"What do you remember?" Rapunzel asked him.

"I couldn't tell you, honestly. It was all really fuzzy. I remember a gold light, and then…I saw you." He answered.

"And at last I see the light, and all at once, everything is different, now that I see you." Rapunzel sung quietly.

"Yeah, something like that. It fits pretty good, huh? " He replied as he smiled down at her.

"I just…I can't believe this happened." Rapunzel breathed.

"Which part? We've been through a lot the past few days." Eugene laughed.

"All of it." Rapunzel answered.

"But it did." He replied soothingly.

He ran his fingers through her now brown locks and kissed her softly on her head.

"Rapunzel, I love you." He whispered into her hair.

Rapunzel looked up at him with those big green eyes he loved so much and smiled softly.

"And I love _you_." She whispered.

"And I have something to tell you." She said after a moment.

"And what might that be?" Eugene asked.

"Well, first, you have to promise you won't freak out." Rapunzel told him.

Eugene raised his eyebrows in surprise. She didn't have magical, glowing, healing hair anymore, what could she possibly have to tell him that he might freak out about?

"Well, I don't know, Blondie, I _do_ have the tendency to freak out about small, minor details that were forgotten to mention, like, say, glowing hair that just so happens to also heal." He joked with her.

Rapunzel gave him a playful swat. "I'm serious! Promise me!"

"I just…I don't know, Blondie, I just think that's too hard of a promise to keep…maybe you better just keep this one to yourself…" He continued.

"Eugene! I'm serious!" Rapunzel reprimanded.

"Okay, okay!" Eugene finally consented, holding up his hands in defeat.

"Pinky promise?" Rapunzel expectantly held out her pinky.

"Promise." Eugene agreed, wrapping his pinky around her smaller one and shaking them. "Now what's your little secret?"

Rapunzel had a feeling he had no idea how big her "little secret" really was.

"Well, Eugene…." She sighed, not knowing how she should tell him. "I'm the Lost Princess." She finally blurted out, not being able to think of a better, gentler way to tell him.

Eugene's jaw dropped as he looked at her with wide eyes in astonishment. No…she couldn't be! Was it really possible? Well, he knew for a fact that woman wasn't her mother, because while he didn't know too terribly much about mothers, being an orphan, he did know that no real mother could keep her child in a tower for eighteen years and chain her and gag her when she refused to stay any longer, even to keep herself young forever. The Lost Princess – if she was still alive, that is – turned eighteen yesterday. Oh…Rapunzel did too. The Lost Princess had long blonde hair and big green eyes, just like the Queen's – Wait…Rapunzel did too. That is, until a few minutes ago. The more he looked at her, the more he realized how much she looked like the Queen.

Now that he thought about it, he wondered how he could have been so dumb that he hadn't realized it before.

"You're...the Lost…Princess…" Eugene gasped in incredulity, trying to let it all sink in.

"Mhmm." Rapunzel agreed, nodding her head. Yep, he was freaking out, despite her warnings.

"Rapunzel, you're the Lost Princess!" He yelled, as if he himself had just made some amazing discovery.

"Yeah, Eugene, I know." Rapunzel calmly reminded him.

"I know, Rapunzel, I just…" He trailed off, lost in his thoughts.

What was he going to do? He truly did think it was stupendous that she was the Lost Princess, because that meant she knew exactly where to find her family, and she would assuredly have a good family to go to. But…what was _he_ going to do? He had promised her minutes ago that he never planned on leaving her again. But if he went into the kingdom again, which he would have to do to return Rapunzel, he surely would be caught, put in prison and hanged. Even if he didn't, and he met the King and Queen with Rapunzel, they'd without a doubt send him to prison. Or would they, seeing that would make him the one who brought the Lost Princess back? All he wanted was for Rapunzel to be back home, with a real family, to be safe and happy, but he knew she wouldn't be happy without him in the picture. What was he going to do? How was he going to explain this to her?

"…How did you know?" Eugene finally asked.

"Well, there were little clues all along, but I was in my bedroom last night, looking at my paintings on the ceiling. I kept looking at them, and I realized that almost everything was in the shape of Corona's sun. This memory of two people came back to me, and I had never known what it meant before, and I realized the two people were the King and Queen from the mural in the kingdom. And when you first climbed up here, I looked in your satchel and put on the crown, and that memory came back to me too. And all of the sudden, I just knew." Rapunzel explained.

"Wow. Well, uh, I guess we better get you home, huh?" Eugene said, ignoring all the questions and doubts in his mind of what was going to happen to them.

"Yeah, I guess so." Rapunzel laughed.

What an adventure this was going to be. Certainly not one they'd forget anytime soon.

**A/N: What'd you think? Personally, I was pretty happy with it, but I felt like it could've been better. Anyway, REVIEW and tell me what you thought! :) Constructive criticism is welcome!**


	2. Tower Goodbyes

**A/N: Hello! I give you chapter 3, Tower Goodbyes. It's a shortie, but it didn't really fit with the first chapter or the chapter after this, and I really felt like I needed to include this. So here you are! Oh, oh, oh, and I married Eugene this afternoon! Teehee, I know, right? *you give me the Eugene give Punzie when she tells him she never breaks her promises* *SIGH* Fine. In the game Life I married him. And we had six children. Oh yes :)**

**And oh my goodness, I forgot my disclaimer last time! Whoopsie-daisy...Shh, don't call the cops on me :)**

**I don't own Tangled, because Disney is stupid and doesn't know how to share, even though though they're what, almost 90 years old or something? Shaaaaaaaaaare, Disney, shaaaaare! Stubborn Disney: No! Me: :P**

"You okay?" Eugene tentatively came up behind Rapunzel and laid a hand on her shoulder.

They had gathered up a few needed items from her tower (like the frying pan that somehow managed to survive all their adventures), and were about to leave.

Rapunzel was standing in the middle of the room, arms wrapped around herself, studying the walls, the floors, the furniture, the swirl of brown hair wrapped around the room, really _everything_ about her tower.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine." She quickly replied, snapping back to reality.

Eugene gave her a concerned look of disbelief.

Rapunzel sighed in defeat and explained. "I know I've got to leave, and let go of this place, but…I don't know, it's kind of hard. I know it'll be better with my parents, but I don't know. I'll miss this place, I think. It's where we first met." She smiled at the memory of their first meeting.

"We can always come back." He whispered, wrapping his arms around her middle.

"Really?" Rapunzel asked hopefully.

"Of course. Whenever you want."

"Thank you, Eugene. I don't know what I'd do without you." She said, nestling into his chest.

Suddenly, her head bolted upright and she gasped.

"Where's Pascal?" she asked urgently, scanning the room to find her little green companion. Spotting him by the window, she ran over to him.

"Pascal!" Rapunzel greeted, cupping her hands for him to crawl into.

The chameleon gingerly stepped into Rapunzel's hands and curled into a little ball.

"Aw, you poor thing, you didn't get much sleep at all last night, did you? And you got hurt, didn't you?" she cooed as Pascal nodded his head sadly.

Eugene wasn't one to be concerned about animals, especially this one, with the whole tongue-in-ear greeting thing, but he had to admit he felt a bit sorry for Pascal. Getting kicked across the room by someone's boot while trying to protect your mistress (or…whatever Rapunzel was in relation to Pascal) probably hurt quite a bit, especially when you're a frog.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, baby." She continued, bringing her hands up to her face and cuddling him. "We're gonna go home to my real parents, though, and I'm sure you'll like that, won't you, Pascal? They'll treat you really good. And just think, you might meet another cute little chameleon!"

Pascal made a face at the last comment.

"How are we gonna get down? I don't really want to go down those stairs." She said, putting Pascal in his usual spot on her shoulder.

Eugene understood why she didn't want to use the stairs. Less than an hour ago, she was about to be forced down those dark steps and taken away to somewhere unknown, never to see the outside world again. And then Eugene got an idea.

"Wanna learn how to scale tall buildings?"

"Definitely." Rapunzel answered confidently.

And so Rapunzel learned a very important lesson on thieving that morning.

**A/N: How did you like it? REVIEW and tell me! Seriously, reeeeview! It inspires me and makes me all warm and fuzzy :) And feel free to tell me how I could improve!  
>Surprise, dearies! Review replies!<br>TeamTangled: Aww, I'm glad you liked it and that you're so excited about it! I'm excited about it too :) Aww, I'm so honored that you're releasing celebratory lanterns! Haha ;)  
><span>risingstar9328<span>: Aw, thank you! It thought it was a little hard to get them in character, given the situation (I mean, coming back to life! Not an everyday experience...), but I felt like they'd be excited than serious about it :)  
><span>Liz McCallus<span>: Thanks, dear! I'm excited you're excited to see where this is going :) **

**So, anyway, review! Fair warning, next chapter is gonna be fluffy :) But I'm excited for it, so you can either dance and release celebratory lanterns or run away like our favorite thief. I personally love fluff, so yup :) Anyway! Review!**


	3. Night You Danced

**A/N: Hey again! Sorry this one took a while, I'm not having as much time to write :( But it's up now, and that's all that matters. So anyway, prepare yourself for some cutesy stuff :) Also, while I was writing the part where they're dancing, I was listening to Kingdom Dance, so if you wanna listen to that while you're reading it, that'd kinda show you what I was going for :)**

**I don't own Tangled. Goodness, if I did, that thing would be 16 hours long, no joke. I'd probably make it be like, their whole lives. Then again, I couldn't write all this fun fanfiction about everything that doesn't happen in the movie, so perhaps it's better that IIIIIIIII stay here, but tell me, when will my life begin? Sorry bout that, little bursting into song there. **

**On with the chapter!**

"You're almost there, Rapunzel!" Eugene encouraged, standing at the bottom of the tower, guiding Rapunzel through the process of climbing down.

When she was a foot or so away from the ground, he put his hands around her waist and lifted her off, twirling her around once before setting her back down as Rapunzel giggled in delight.

"Max!" Rapunzel exclaimed, noticing their horse friend standing there. "Did you bring Eugene here?"

Maximus gave a proud nod.

"Aw, you're such a good boy, yes you are!" she cooed, running over to him and petting him affectionately.

"It's a pretty interesting story. Do you want to talk more in the morning?" he asked her, as they both looked tired.

Rapunzel smiled.

"It _is_ morning, Eugene."

"Oh, right…"

"But I'm fine with taking a little nap and then setting out. I hardly got any sleep last night." Rapunzel quickly responded.

"Sounds good to me." Eugene said.

"What time do you even think it is?" Rapunzel asked, looking at the sky for a clue.

"Too early A.M." Eugene responded.

Rapunzel laughed.

"Can we camp out and pretend like it's night, though?" she requested hopefully, stretching her arms above her head.

Eugene grinned.

"Sure, Blondie. If you help me get some firewood." He agreed, even though the sun had risen and broken through the dark, foggy morning clouds, and there was no need for a fire. He already knew Rapunzel would want one, after she had been so enchanted by the one he had lit the other night.

She took his hand and ventured into the forest with him.

"So what do you do?" Rapunzel asked, lightly swinging their hands back and forth.

"Well, you get sticks and chunks of wood, and, uh, I don't know!" Eugene tried to explain.

The two returned to Maximus laughing and arms loaded with wood. That is, until Rapunzel spotted Gothel's cape lying on the ground.

Reality crashed down on her, and she realized that Gothel was gone. She had known it before, but for the first time, it really…struck her. She inhaled sharply and a single tear escaped.

"Eugene…" she sighed. "What am I…What am I supposed to do? I know she wasn't my real mother, and she probably wasn't the best one, but…I still feel horrible, and like I'll miss her. Because I know I loved her, in a way. Is that wrong?"

Eugene bent down to drop the wood and wrapped his arms around her, and though he had never been the best at comforting women, he slowly answered her question.

"Well, I don't think so. I mean, you were with her and you thought she was your mother for pretty much your whole life. Even though she really wasn't, and she wasn't the best mother, she took care of you for eighteen years. I don't think it's wrong; you can never go back and change things, so no matter what, she'll always be the one who took care of you for eighteen years."

Rapunzel nodded her head and slowly let out a breath. "I think you're right. All of this is going to take a lot of getting used to, huh?"

Eugene could only imagine how much getting used to it would take. Over sixty-nine less feet of hair, realizing the person you thought was your mother your whole life was not your mother, and instead, your real mother was the Queen, making you the Princess. The _Lost_ Princess, at that.

oOo

"Eugene?" Rapunzel asked as Eugene was lighting the fire after they had selected a spot in the woods where it wasn't as bright. As he'd expected, she had insisted on him lighting it, though it was early morning and there was plenty of light, because they were supposed to be pretending it was nighttime, and she "loved the smell and feeling of it".

"We never really did get to dance." She stated simply.

"I know. It's okay, I'm really not that great of a dancer."

"Oh, yes you are, I saw you! You're wonderful."

"Whatever you say, Blondie."

"…Eugene?" she asked a few minutes later.

"What?"

"We didn't finish that dance." Rapunzel repeated.

"I know, Rapunzel. I'm sorry."

"Can we finish it?"

Although Eugene didn't mind the idea at all of dancing with Rapunzel in the middle of the forest he gave her a dramatic sigh.

"Don't try to smolder me out of it, Eugene. I've made up my mind, I _want_ you to dance with me." Rapunzel cut in.

Eugene smirked and complied. He stood up, bowed, and held out his hand.

"May I have this dance, fair princess?" He asked in a formal voice.

"You may." She said, still sitting and sweetly reaching one hand up and placing it in his.

Seeing that Rapunzel had no intention of standing up by herself, he sighed as he responded, "I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice."

"I told you, it's not going to - " Before Rapunzel could finish her reply back to reprimand him that the smolder wouldn't work and that he shouldn't even try it, he swept her off the ground and into his arms.

"Eugene!" she squealed, gripping his vest for dear life, as he twirled around in circles swiftly. She looked up to see his face, not expecting what she saw. He was looking into her eyes, wearing his signature _smolder_.

"Eugene!" she laughed once again. "I _told_ you the smolder wouldn't work!"

But this time, Rapunzel saw something…different. He wasn't just flirting with some random girl to get what he wanted, and Rapunzel could see it in his amber orbs. It was a sense of affection and admiration.

Eugene broke into a goofy grin and didn't reply as he kept spinning her.

"Eugene! Eugene, put me down!" Rapunzel shrieked, in spite of all her laughter and how much fun she was having. "Eugene, I'm getting dizzy!" she tried again, as her requests were ignored.

Before too long, Eugene got dizzy too (though he would never admit it. Getting dizzy was such a _girl_ thing), and began stumbling and losing his sense of balance. Tripping over his foot, he lost his balance and fell to the ground beside the fire, Rapunzel falling at his side.

"Oh, come on, lazy, let's dance some more!" Rapunzel pleaded after their laughter had subsided, sitting up on her knees.

"I already did, Rapunzel."

"_You_ already did. But if I remember correctly, I was in the air the whole time. Therefore, I did not dance, which means you didn't dance with me, like I requested." Rapunzel told him proudly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Eugene groaned and lifted up his arm. Immediately, Rapunzel grabbed his fingers and yanked him off the ground, into a dance with her.

They danced and danced around the fire, sometimes clumsily, sometimes gracefully, their laughter ringing out into the sweet, warm, summer "night" air. No music could be heard except for the rustling of grass beneath their feet, the campfire's crackle, and the sound of their joyous laughter, but neither seemed to notice or mind it. It really didn't matter though, and one might never notice it, because you could almost hear a song just by the way they danced, the way their feet pitter-pattered on the grass, or the way they looked at each other.

They spun around in circles, holding hands, at arms length. Eugene lifted up his hand, which was entwined with hers, and Rapunzel twirled under it, smiling brightly. She returned to his arms, and they continued twirling and dancing and spinning and skipping and jumping, not caring how they looked, because it didn't matter. It only mattered that they were here, together, in each other's arms "tonight". Rapunzel relished the warm feeling of Eugene's arms around her, breathing in the sweet campfire scent. She closed her eyes and imagined they were dancing in Corona's streets, under the dark, night sky, feet pattering on the warm, cobblestone pavement. Her heart pounded against her chest in excitement, her skirt was twirling every which way, her hair was flying, and _oh_, it was perfect.

Suddenly, Rapunzel tripped over a small pebble on the ground and she lunged forward, grasping for Eugene's strong arms to steady her. Eugene reached out his arms, which preformed their needed task, and held her tightly. Coincidentally, they ended up in the same position they had the night before, as the dance on the kingdom square ended, except this time Rapunzel's feet had ended up on Eugene's boots, causing him to wobble and eventually fall over, Rapunzel falling on top of him.

"Guess we're not too good at this not falling thing, huh?" Eugene said as Rapunzel rolled over onto the grass beside him, giggling the whole time.

"Nope. But I'm glad you'll always be here to catch me."

Eugene smiled and pulled Rapunzel into his lap and rested his head on hers.

"Eugene? Will you tell me a story?" Rapunzel asked, looking up at his handsome features.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. You told one last time."

"How about the one about how I came to your rescue?"

It occurred to Rapunzel that she really didn't know how he came to her rescue. The night before, when Eugene left, he had promised he'd be right back. She remembered hearing low, intimidating voices and a loud thud not long after he'd left. Later, she thought she saw him coming toward her, but it turned out to be two scary, huge men who wanted her hair and told her that Eugene had left her, which she couldn't bring herself to believe. They had even given her proof, she saw him sailing away herself, but she still couldn't believe it. When she got back to the tower, Mother – or, rather, Gothel – told her Eugene was to be hanged. The next thing she knew, he was climbing up her hair to get in the tower. How _had_ he come to her rescue?

"Okay." She agreed, settling down comfortably in his lap to hear the story.

"Well, last night, when I went to go meet those men on the beach, I tried to give them the crown, because as you might have noticed, they were creepily stalking us." He explained, earning a laugh from the girl at his side.

"And then, I didn't even want it anymore. I just wanted to be with you. Suddenly, I realized that I didn't care about all those islands and castles and money anymore. They didn't matter to me. _You_ were what mattered to me. So anyway, I tried to give it back to them. But they didn't want it. They said they wanted you instead, and before I could do anything, they knocked me out and tied me to a boat with the crown in my hand."

Rapunzel nodded. "They came to me and told me that you ran off with the crown and left me. Then they made it sound like you had made a deal with them, something about trading the crown for me and my hair. I ran away, and they were chasing me, but then Mother – I mean, Gothel - knocked them out and said she followed me."

"Ah, so we had three people stalking us, did we? We must be quite the popular couple!" Eugene said, Rapunzel giving him a playful shove in response.

"Finish your story." She commanded.

Eugene smiled at her and went on. "Well, the guards found me and put me in prison. I couldn't sleep all night; I was too worried about you. At dawn, the guards came and got me to hang me. As they were leading me out of the prison, the Snuggly Duckling guys busted me out, and it turned out Maximus brought them there. Then, I came to save you, and you know the rest. What about you?"

"Well, she took me back to the tower with her, and she took out my braid that those little girls did and she kept repeating to me how awful the world was. And then after she left, that was when I realized that I was the Lost Princess. I told her, and at first she acted like she didn't hear me. She kept denying it, and she told me that you were to be hanged. When I told her I wouldn't let her use my hair anymore, she chained me and gagged me, and while she was packing things up she told me we were leaving to go somewhere no one would find me, and that I would never get out again. And then you came." Rapunzel explained.

"I'm sorry, Rapunzel." He whispered.

"It's okay, Eugene. It wasn't your fault. _I'm_ sorry for letting this happen to you." She said, moving her hand to the place where Eugene was stabbed. "And I wasn't mad at you at all, it just hurt that I knew I probably would never see you again. I didn't want to believe you'd left."

"Hey, it wasn't your fault." He whispered soothingly, rocking her back and forth in his lap. They sat this way for quite a while, content to just be in each other's presence.

Soon, the two drifted off into a sweet sleep, dreaming of the times to come. Sure, the future was uncertain, and he knew their lives would never be the same, but they knew everything would be well worth it to be together.

**A/N: REVIEW, dearies!**


	4. Escorting the Fair Lost Princess

**A/N: Hello, all! Here's chapter 4, Escorting the Fair Lost Princess. And thank you all for your lovely reviews! Also, I probably won't update for about a week and a half, because I'm going on vacation to South Carolina, and I'm not bringing my laptop :) But I'm not sure, I may update again before the end of this week :) Anyway, on with the story!**

**Tragically, I don't own Tangled. I don't know what else to say. **

"You about ready?" Eugene called to Rapunzel, who was peeking through the vines to get a last look at her tower. Well, her last look for a while, anyway.

Though she heard him, she didn't respond for a moment. She tilted her head from side to side, trying to memorize every angle of her tower in the late morning sun. The two had woken up from their little nap not long before and were about to head off to the kingdom to return her to her family.

When she was satisfied with her last look at the tower, she turned back around to find Eugene standing behind her. Funny, she didn't notice him walk up.

Rapunzel smiled at him and answered his question. "Mhmm."

"We'll come back. I promise." He assured her.

"I know." She smiled, taking a few steps towards him.

She leaned her forehead into his and they playfully rubbed noses.

Eugene kissed her lips softly.

"Now," he said, taking her hand in his, "Are you ready for me to escort you on this adventure, fair princess?"

oOo

"Oh, Eugene, look!" Rapunzel exclaimed excitedly atop Maximus, pointing at the sign up ahead.

_The Snuggly Duckling_.

Of course.

"Let's go in and tell them thank you!" she continued.

"You don't want to meet your parents as soon as possible?"

"Well, I _do_, but we have to thank them! You wouldn't even be here without them!" She replied, pushing him out of her way as she swung her legs over Max and jumped down.

She did have a point.

Eugene was just hoping it wasn't his and Rapunzel's turn to bust someone out of prison.

"Alright, Blondie." He agreed, following her to the door, as if he had a choice in the matter.

Funny how last time they came in here he was dragging Rapunzel in. That had been what, two days ago? So many things had changed since then.

"Rider, what's with all these girls all of the sudden? I liked that other one! We only busted you out to save her, what'd you do with her?" Hook Hand asked as they walked in.

"It _is_ me, Hook Hand! Eugene cut my hair!" Rapunzel replied, running up to him and hugging him.

The voice and the eyes were hers, so Hook Hand figured it probably really was her.

"Who's Eugene? And why is it brown now?" Hook Hand asked again, still confused.

Rapunzel giggled.

"Oh, I'll tell all of you in a minute!" she replied, walking further into the pub.

Apparently, the rest of the thugs recognized her at once, because upon seeing Rapunzel, they all cheered and welcomed her.

"Oh, hello, Big Nose! Attila! Hello, Vladimir, is that a new unicorn? It's lovely! Bruiser, that sock is coming along nicely! Did you say it's for your new nephew?" Rapunzel began, greeting all of the thugs.

Eugene couldn't help but laugh as he overheard a conversation between that one cupid short thug and Fang.

"Wasn't her hair different the other day?" Fang whispered to – well, we'll just call him Shorty for now.

"No, she didn't, her hair was just like that!" Shorty answered, quite loudly.

"No, I don't think so, it was real long and blonde yesterday. Rider said she was growing it out." Fang said.

"Nah, it was just like that."

"Well, if Rider was telling the truth - which he usually doesn't – if she was growing it out, why'd she cut it?"

"I dunno." Shorty answered.

From Eugene's perspective, these guys were pretty stupid. He told the truth much more often than these guys made it sound like! And how could they not remember her hair? Was he the only one who wasn't accustomed to ridiculously long hair that glows and heals when sung to?

"Okay, everyone!" Rapunzel began, standing on top of the counter to get everyone's attention. "I'm going to tell the story of how Eugene came to save me, and how my hair got like this!" she announced.

There were a few cheers and a few "Who's Eugene?" 's and a comment or two about wondering what happened to her hair.

Rapunzel sat down on the counter and began her story.

"First, you have to understand something. Remember the other day when I had long blonde hair? ("I _told_ you her hair was different yesterday!") Well, it was magical, and it could glow and heal and keep people young. But a woman who wanted to stay young forever kidnapped me when I was a baby, and she kept me up in a tower and made me think she was my mother, and never let me out."

A few "Aww" 's and sympathetic words were heard as she paused.

"Well, anyway, Eugene showed up in my tower, and I made him take me to see the lights I had been dreaming about, like I told you. After Hook Hand showed us that secret passage, we walked for a while in the tunnel, and then the guards came after us. And we ended up at the dam. Well, long story short, we pretty much destroyed the dam, and got stuck in a cave, with water rushing in, and we couldn't find any way out. That is, until I told Eugene my hair glowed, which he freaked out about, and we used it to find a way out."

Now, Eugene had something to dispute.

"I did _not_ freak out!" Eugene protested indignantly.

Giggles bubbled from Rapunzel's lips.

"Oh, yes, you did. The look on your face was priceless. I couldn't have a conversation with you for at least an hour without you bringing up the fact that my hair glowed."

"It was not an hour!" Eugene disagreed.

"No, I think it was, I think you were just so freaked out that you lost concept of time." Rapunzel replied, smiling.

Before Eugene could respond, Vladimir pounded his fist on a table and bellowed, "Finish the story!"

Rapunzel immediately obeyed and finished filling them in on the rest of her and Eugene's adventure together.

"And guess what?" Rapunzel said, after she had finished. "I'm the Lost Princess!"

Immediately the pub thugs believed her and cheered and congratulated her in response.

"So we're on our way to the kingdom to meet my parents!" she exclaimed excitedly. Cheers went up again as Attila brought out few batches of fresh cupcakes.

After the two had eaten lunch and left, Hook Hand called together a huddle in the middle of the room.

"All right, men. If that pretty little lady is gonna get to her family, Rider's gotta stick around. Now, - "

"She said his name was Eugene." One thug loudly corrected Hook Hand.

"Oh, shush." Hook Hand said. "Anyways, as I was sayin', the guards are gonna be swarming after Rider, since he escaped from bein' hanged and all. So he's gonna need some protection. So I say we go into the kingdom too and keep the guards from findin' him, got it?"

"Got it!" the rest of the thugs chorused.

oOo

"You know Blondie -." Eugene started, back turned to Rapunzel as he untied Maximus' reins.

He was cut off by a shriek. Immediately he whirled around to see a man, looking much like a regular at the Snuggly Duckling – one that wasn't there when Rapunzel got them to sing about their dreams - restraining a frightened Rapunzel, holding a knife to her throat. Eugene's eyes widened in horror at the sight.

"Alright, Rider." the man said. "I've heard there's a reward fer you, eh?"

Eugene swallowed hard. He knew where this was going. And it was his fault. If he hadn't been so stupid as to be a thief, no one would be out to get revenge on him or to catch him to get a reward.

"So why don't I just take ya into the kingdom and return ya for you to be hanged?" the man continued.

Eugene anxiously looked toward the pub. Didn't anyone in there hear Rapunzel or see what was happening?

"No!" Rapunzel suddenly shouted. "I won't let you take him!"

The man grinned evilly and chuckled. "Don't think there's too much ya can do about that, girl."

"Yes, there is!" Rapunzel shot back. "Because I'm the Lost Princess."

_No_, Eugene thought. Oh, why did she just tell him that? Now that stupid thug would want to get a reward for her too and…oh, this was _not_ good.

And after all those years of thieving and lying to get himself out of trouble, somehow Eugene just couldn't get the words out of his mouth that Rapunzel wasn't the Lost Princess.

The thug chuckled.

"Well, well, then, I s'pose I'll just take both'a ya back to the kingdom, then."

Eugene shot a panicked look at Rapunzel. What were they supposed to _do_?

Just when Rapunzel thought the man was going to let go of her or at least loosen his grip, he grasped her arms tighter, making it impossible for her to even move.

"If you prove to be too much of a problem, or you'se lying and you ain't the Princess, I'll kill ya right now. Them Royals have gone eighteen years withoutcha, I figure they can go the rest of their lives."

"No! Please, don't hurt her. Just let her go, you can take me! I won't try to get away; I'll let you turn me in! Please, don't hurt her." Eugene pleaded. Oh, he hated the sight of that knife so close to Rapunzel…

The thug chuckled and gripped the knife even closer to Rapunzel's throat, the cold, harsh blade touching her soft skin ever so slightly.

"I ain't gonna miss an opportunity to get a reward like I'm sure they'se offering fer her, if that's what you'se wantin. Why, I could prob'ly git a island wit' that."

Eugene rolled his eyes. Oh, so unoriginal.

His eyes darted around the forest, desperately trying to find an escape. He glanced at Rapunzel and noticed Pascal wasn't in his usual spot on her shoulder. That was strange, but he was too worried to care. What were they going to do?

The thug continued his speech. "Better yet, I could git a island _with_ a castle – "

Before he could finish his thought, a squeal rang out, and before anyone could tell what was happening, a flock of chameleons, led by Pascal, wrapped their tongues around the thug, and Maximus knocked him out with a frying pan.

The guy immediately fell backwards with a loud thud, leaving Pascal and his group standing there, looking very proud.

"Frogs to the rescue!" Eugene exclaimed as the chameleons recoiled their tongues.

Maximus gave him a displeased look.

"Chameleons, Eugene." Rapunzel corrected.

"Right. And horses!" Eugene said, hoping Maximus would stop glaring at him.

Rapunzel picked up her chameleon and began talking to him.

"How did you do that?" she asked incredulously.

Pascal made a few squeaks and arm motions. Rapunzel listened intently while Eugene stood at her side, looking at her strangely.

"He says he saved the chameleons in the Snuggly Duckling from that pot and got them out here, and made up an escape plan with them and Maximus." Rapunzel explained. "Aw, you're such a brave boy, aren't you?"

"Great," Eugene muttered. "Now I'm the only one who can't communicate with every kind of animal."

Rapunzel ignored his comment and embraced him.

"Sorry about that, Punzie." He apologized, holding her close and rubbing circles on her back.

Rapunzel laughed.

"It's no problem. Should I expect you to escort me on an adventure _without_ almost getting killed?"

Eugene laughed.

"Probably not."

**A/N: And there you all are! So, review and tell me what you thought!**


	5. Bridges, Blondies, and Dragon Fighting

**A/N: Hello, all! Here's chapter five! Yes, I got it up before I go on vacation :) Just a cute little chappie, where they're walking through the forest, having a good little talk. And also, you'll most likely notice that there's references to Long Live (the song) and Mine by Taylor Swift in their conversation. Well, you should expect references to Long Live since this story is sorta based off of it, but the reason there's references to Mine is because I'm planning something for a later story that involves that song. **

**So this is how my disclaimer would look if I was speaking it.  
><strong>**Me: *hoarsely* I don't own Tangled.  
><strong>**Everyone else: What? I can't understand what you're saying.  
><strong>**Me: I don't own Tangled.  
>Everyone else: I still can't hear you.<br>And I would end up repeating it way too many times. Because I don't have a voice. It's sad. But anyway, you get the point that I don't own Tangled, so on with the story!**

"Look, I can see the bridge!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

She and Eugene were walking through the forest with Maximus at their side, nearing the bridge that lead into the village.

"Yep. We're almost there." Eugene said, ignoring the nagging feeling that he shouldn't be going where he was.

"Now why did it take so long last time?" Rapunzel asked.

Eugene laughed.

"Oh, I don't know, probably because you sat there forever being bipolar about leaving your tower, you sang to the Snuggly Duckling thugs, we took that underground tunnel to the dam, we pretty much destroyed Corona's whole water system and almost drowned in the process, the guards were after me…actually, they still are, but you get the point."

Rapunzel laughed.

"And because I showed you my glowing hair…the look on your face was priceless!" Rapunzel giggled.

"Not funny, Blondie. Not everyone sees glowing hair every day like you!" Eugene defended. "Though I have to admit, the look on _your_ face when we walked in the Snuggly Duckling was pretty priceless."

"Can you blame me? Ruffians and thugs were exactly what I was trying to avoid!"

Eugene laughed. "Well, I guess you know now that the Snuggly Duckling isn't a five star joint, after all, huh?"

"Yes, I knew that, even though you told me it was. Especially after I saw all those shops in the village. Like the one we got our cupcakes from! Remember that?"

"'Course I remember, Goldie. Those were good cupcakes."

Rapunzel nodded her head. "Mhmm, those were good. Remember when we went in the library? And we read all those books?"

"Yep. All those fairytale books." He said, smiling.

He remembered how she'd told him that she only had three books in her tower. After he was amazed at this, she explained that when she was younger, her mother used to bring her books – some of them story books with fairytales! But after a while, her mother took them away from her, because she said they "gave her unrealistic ideas". So, he and she sat in the kingdom's library for what must have been hours yesterday, reading every book Rapunzel picked out and then some.

"Hey, Blondie? I know this is sort of random, but since you're a princess and all, well…" Eugene paused, looking for the right words. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not…not a prince. I didn't fight dragons for you or have some magical kingdom to ride away into the sunset with you to. I guess after reading all those fairytale books, I just feel like I should be…you know, a prince or something."

He really did feel guilty. He really hadn't done anything that heroic for her. It was really his fault last night that she'd gone back with her "mother". He was a _thief_. She was the Lost Princess. He didn't deserve her, even without taking that factor into account.

Rapunzel looked at him seriously.

"Eugene. I love everything that happened these last few days exactly how they are, including the fact that you are Eugene Fitzherbert, former thief Flynn Rider. Maybe you didn't really fight any dragons for me, but that's not as heroic as what you did for me. You shouldn't be a prince." Rapunzel answered him, shaking her head. "I don't want you to be a prince. And our adventures over the past few days? That's what I'd call dragon fighting. Even if it's not your typical princess story, I had the time of my life doing all that with you."

Eugene smiled at her and grasped her hand. "Me too, Blondie."

"Hey Eugene, you realize I'm not a blonde anymore, right?" she asked after a moment.

"Yep, I know. I was the one who did that, you know."

"Right, but don't you think that since I'm not a blonde, 'Blondie' doesn't really fit anymore?"

"Nope." Eugene answered, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. He kissed her partly in her hair and partly on her forehead. "I think it fits perfectly. Plus, every time I say it, I'll think of the time we first met."

They walked this way for some time, until Eugene spoke up.

"Do you…Are you mad at me for cutting your hair? Do you resent me for it?"

Rapunzel quickly pulled away and looked up at him.

"No. I could never, _ever_ resent you for what you did, Eugene. You _saved_ me. I'd still be with her, and probably would never see the world again if you hadn't. I doubt I can do much with this hair, but that's okay. Every time I see it, it'll remind me of you." She told him, snuggling into his chest again. "And even though I don't have anything magical anymore – well, at least I don't think I do – I think we've got enough magic without it. And I love you more than anything magical hair could ever do."

"Do you think you'll miss it?" he asked her after a while.

"Yeah, I definitely think I will. I don't think I've ever had it this short in my life. But that's okay. I mean, it's not as useful, or…" Rapunzel started to explain. She had no idea why, but tears began to well up in her eyes. "Yes, I will miss it. It's not as pretty as it was, either. It won't ever be like it was before…"

"Rapunzel, listen to me. Do you remember those lights?" Eugene abruptly asked her before she could say any more.

Rapunzel nodded her head. Of course she did, how could she not?

"Do you remember how we felt then, out there on the water? And how it was like all those lights were shining just for me and you?" he asked again.

"Yes." She whispered softly.

"I do too. Rapunzel, every time I look at you, it's like the first time – all that blonde hair and all, coming after me with a frying pan. I fell in love with you – heck, I fell in love with the _Lost Princess_, the King and Queen's _daughter_, without even knowing it – and you are the _best _thing that's ever been mine. Nothing will ever change that. Not even a magical haircut." He reassured her sincerely, lovingly brushing away the tear that had found its way down her cheek away with his thumb.

Rapunzel broke into a smile and threw her arms around his neck, saying, "Oh, Eugene, I love you."

Eugene smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Love you too, Blondie."

**A/N: So how did you like it? I felt like they needed to have a little talk about this. Next up is chapter six (which I'm just now about to start), which will be about when they go into the village! You can expect the next chapter probably in about a week and a half. Maybe a little less. Depending on how long I make it or if split it up. And how inspired by reviews I get! *bats eyelashes*  
>So, in case you didn't get the hint yet, REVIEW! I love it when you guys review, it makes me so happy! And it motivates me to write, so if you want faster chappie updates, then you should review :) Review!<strong>


	6. Afternoon in the Kingdom

**A/N: Yay, everyone! I'm baaaack! Vacation was amazing and worth the 16 hr drive there, and I got some good writing inspiration! Anyway, here's chapter six! I'm not sure I'm happy with the title, I just came up with it real fast just now, because I wanted to post this. I might change the title later, I don't know. This one's kinda long, but I didn't want to split it up. So, enjoy this long chapter!**

**Yet again, if I said my disclaimer, it would be hoarse, because, unfortunately, I was smashed in between my two sisters on the way there, and one of them was sick. So guess who's sick now? Me. And just when my voice was coming back. Now it's gone again. :P.  
>I don't own Tangled. :P.<strong>

"Eugene!" Rapunzel squealed. "It's the beach!"

He laughed.

"I know. We went to the one at the other side of the bridge for a little bit yesterday, remember?"

"I know, but I just love it!" she said, digging her toes in the sand. "Come on!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him next to her in the sand.

"Hold on, hold on, let me at least take my boots off."

Rapunzel let go of his hand and agreed, and Eugene sat down to take off his boots.

"I like your boots." Rapunzel commented.

"Well, thanks, I guess. You ever thought about wearing shoes, Blondie?" Eugene laughed.

Rapunzel blushed and looked down at her bare feet.

"Mother always said I should wear them. But they're just not comfortable or practical. And I feel so free without them!" she explained.

"I guess you'd get used to it. But doesn't it hurt to not wear shoes?"

"Not really," she said, "I really never have, so I guess my feet are used to it."

"Maybe you should teach me to do that sometime. Could sneak around a lot quieter without shoes. And I thought I was the greatest thief! Blondie, I think you'd make a good one, too."

"I could teach you, but you're not a thief anymore, right? You won't need to know how to sneak around."

Eugene shook his head. It was going to be an adjustment going back to Eugene Fitzherbert. That is, if they made it through town without him getting caught and killed. "Oh, right. But I may need to sneak around to protect you." He said, standing up and snaking his arms around her waist.

"I think a frying pan should be sufficient. After all, you _were_ the one who attracted all those guards and thugs and things after us." Rapunzel replied.

Eugene smiled and took her hand, bringing her to the shoreline.

Rapunzel smiled a coy smile and leaned her free hand down into the water.

"Gotcha!" she squealed, bringing her hand back up and splashing Eugene.

Eugene cocked an eyebrow.

"You asked for it, 'Punzel." He said, scooping up a handful of water and splashing the girl next to him.

After splashing each other a few more times, Rapunzel cupped her hands together and filled them with water. She brought her hands close to Eugene's face and broke them apart, and the water fell down on his nose.

She gave him a satisfied grin. _Yes, I just spilled water all over your oh-so-beautiful nose._

"Oh-ho, Blondie, this is _on_." He said, wiping his nose off and looking straight at her.

His eyes locked with hers, and some sort of roguish look in his eyes told Rapunzel that he was formulating a plan that would involve getting her wet.

Not exactly thrilled about the idea she sensed Eugene was getting, Rapunzel took a step backwards. Eugene grinned at her and took a step towards her, as if he were challenging her.

Rapunzel whirled around and ran away in the other direction, and the same second she did, Eugene followed after her.

"Catch me if you can!" She called back, laughing.

But it didn't take long for him to catch up with her, even though she was a fast runner, and when he did, he threw his arms around her and tackled her to the ground.

"I've got you now, fair Princess!" Eugene declared.

He decided that while he had her pinned down like this, he might as well figure out if she was ticklish.

"Eugene!" she squealed through her laughter, squirming and kicking her legs in protest. But Eugene kept a strong grip on her and kept tickling her.

"Eugene, stop! It tickles!" she cried, rolling from side to side in the sand to try and avoid his tickling hands.

Eugene scooped her up in his arms and ran into the ocean with her. He dipped her down into the water and then slung her over his shoulder. She pounded on his back and tried to splash water up on him with her feet.

When they reached the shore, Eugene set Rapunzel down in the sand and put his hands up in defeat.

"Okay, okay, I surrender. You probably don't want to be sopping wet when you meet your parents." He said.

"Like I'm not already sopping wet."

Eugene just grinned.

"Oh well," he said, reaching out his hand to help her up, "It won't matter if you're sopping wet. You're beautiful anyway." He kissed her forehead and Rapunzel just smirked.

They walked over to the bridge and Eugene laughed as Rapunzel ran ahead of him, grabbing one of his wanted posters. Sheesh, how did they get those things up so fast?

And, of course, they still couldn't get his nose right.

"Whatcha doin', Blondie?" He asked.

"Well, you're not going to be wanted anymore, so I'm doing them a favor and taking down these wanted posters for them. And I'm going to correct your nose and draw a picture on the back of all of them." Rapunzel answered, looking at the paper in her hands proudly.

"That is one ambitious task you're taking upon yourself, Blondie." He told her, though she'd proved to him yesterday that she could get his nose right.

Rapunzel grabbed his hand and pulled him along up the bridge with her.

"Come on, you." She said.

Much to Rapunzel's delight, she saw many of the children that she'd seen yesterday in the village.

"Rapunzel!" they cried, running towards her and gathering around her.

"What happened to your hair?" One little red-haired girl asked as she pointed at Rapunzel's hair. Eugene thought he recognized her as one of the girls who braided Rapunzel's hair yesterday.

"Oh, it's a wonderful story! Would you all like to hear it?" she asked.

The children eagerly nodded their heads.

"Okay, let's go over to that little fountain over there, and I'll tell it to you." Rapunzel motioned to a fountain not far away.

They all bounded towards it, Eugene bringing up the rear, making sure he kept Maximus with them as he looked around suspiciously for guards.

When they got to the fountain, the children sat in front of it and Rapunzel sat on the fountain's edge, patting the spot beside her for Eugene to sit on.

The children looked up at the two intently with wide eyes, not knowing that the story they were about to hear was the one about how the Lost Princess returned, or that the Lost Princess was sitting right in front of them.

"Now," Rapunzel began, "You all remember the story I told you yesterday about how my whole life, I've been _dreaming_ to see those lanterns, and then how Eugene here came and agreed to take me to see them, and that whole part of the adventure, right?"

The children nodded vigorously and one spoke up.

"And how you told us that you thought you really liked him?"

Rapunzel blushed and glanced at Eugene, who was wearing a grin.

"Um, yes, right. Well, last night, I finally got to see the lights!" Rapunzel said enthusiastically, steering away from the topic that was just brought up.

The kids smiled and some cheered.

"Well, I saw them, and it was _wonderful_. But then, just as they were ending…" Rapunzel started.

Eugene watched her tell the story and didn't hear the words she was saying. His eyes were locked on her, and he thought about how much he admired her, how much he loved her.

He watched her with the children, and how good she was with them. Their eyes grew bigger by the second and filled with wonder and excitement. It was clear she had and could enchant and captivate them with something as simple as a story. Well, really, she could do that to anyone.

Including himself.

Without any warning, an image flashed through Eugene's eyes. He and Rapunzel were playing with children – their children, he was pretty sure. Rapunzel was a stupendous mother, and – was that another one on the way that was making her stomach swell up like that?

Eugene blinked back to reality. _Woah_, he thought, _where did _that_ come from_? He was just sitting here, listening to Rapunzel, the girl he met two days ago, telling a story to some village children, and then in the same minute, he started imagining things about them being married and having kids.

Kids.

Lots of them.

Sure, he knew he loved Rapunzel, he'd told her he never wanted or planned on leaving her again, and it was true; but was it really possible? He was afraid he wasn't even going to get her home. But marriage and children? He would love that, but the chances of them getting to the castle without being caught and killed, getting the Royals to believe that Rapunzel was the Lost Princess, that the Royals would accept him and not get him hanged, that the Royals would let him _marry _her and have a whole big family with her?

Not likely. Even though he wished with every fiber of his being that it was.

He broke away from his thoughts and listened to Rapunzel again.

"…And then, you'll never guess what I realized." She was saying.

The children leaned forward anxiously and glued their eyes on Rapunzel.

"I'm the Lost Princess!" she said, and immediately the children smiled and giggled and cheered. Some even got up and gave Rapunzel and Eugene big hugs and sat on their laps.

"So that means that that old lady wasn't my mother. And she didn't want me to know that I was the Lost Princess or go back to my family, because that meant she couldn't stay young forever anymore. So she chained me up and told me we were leaving. Now, Eugene, here, got arrested and put in jail and was about to be hanged this morning. But those nice men from the Snuggly Duckling came and got him out, and he came to save me!"

The kids cheered, thinking the story was over.

"But wait!" Rapunzel interrupted. "There's more! When Eugene came to save me, that old lady stabbed him."

Gasps of horror were heard, confused eyes turned to Eugene, and arms tightened around him.

"And she was going to just leave him there. But I didn't want to. I couldn't. So I told her that if she let me heal him, I would go with her and not run away, and she agreed. I ran over to him and was about to heal him, when he grabbed a something sharp from the ground and cut my hair with it. And just like that, all my hair turned brown, that woman grew _very_ old and fell out the window, and I didn't have the power to heal Eugene anymore. So, he died." Rapunzel said, barely above a whisper.

She raised her finger to her eye to wipe away a tear that was starting to form. A little girl who Rapunzel had met yesterday, Ellie, and who was currently sitting on Rapunzel's lap gave her a sympathetic, yet encouraging look. Rapunzel smiled warmly at her.

"So, I did the only thing I knew to do. I sang the magical song that used to make my hair glow. And I cried. And it just so happened that one of my tears landed on him, and apparently they were magical, too, just like my hair was, because this beautiful gold light filled the room, and he woke up." Rapunzel smiled at the memory of Eugene waking up.

"So now," she said, "We're on our way to the castle to meet my parents!"

The children cheered and everyone hugged the two again.

Eugene was so caught up in his thoughts, watching Rapunzel, listening to the story, watching the kid's reactions, and now hugging them, that he didn't notice a few large, disguised ruffians sitting on the other side of the fountain, trying to look casual, making it impossible for anyone to see the pair behind them.

oOo

"Watcha doin, Rapunzel?" Ellie asked Rapunzel as she came up behind her and observed her.

"I'm drawing pictures on the back of these posters. See? This one is of me in my tower. This one is of when we sang at the Snuggly Duckling about our dreams. And I'm gonna draw a whole bunch more." Rapunzel explained.

"Can I help?" the girl asked eagerly.

"Sure!" Rapunzel replied.

And before she knew it, Eugene and all the children were helping her. After each picture was completed, she eagerly showed and explained them to everyone.

Many of the pictures featured she and Eugene's adventures the last few days. Some were of Rapunzel simply running free through a field, or watching the lights from her windows, or doing some of the activities she used to do in her tower to keep busy.

A large man with some sort of turban with a few holes in it wrapped around his face, holding a bucket of chalk walked up to the group, standing directly in front of where Eugene and Rapunzel were sitting.

"Does this chalk belong here?" he asked in an extremely low voice.

"Oh, yes, thank you for finding it!" Rapunzel replied cheerfully, taking the bucket of chalk from the man and setting it on the ground.

Eugene glanced behind the man to try and figure out where he came from, but thought better of it when he saw some guards passing.

As the guards marched out of sight, the man turned around to walk back to wherever he came from, and Eugene noticed a cupcake tattoo on the man's arm.

Rapunzel sat back and sighed as she looked at her drawings.

"I think I want to take a break." She decided.

"You wanna go for a walk?" Eugene suggested.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping up and grabbing his hand. "Let's go!"

They walked hand in hand through the streets, taking in the warm sun and the buzz going on around them.

"Hey Eugene? How old are you?" Rapunzel asked, tilting her head and looking at him as if she was trying to analyze his age.

"Twenty-one." He answered. "So that mean's I'm three years older than you."

"I know that. I could've figured it out." Rapunzel told him.

"I know. I just wanted to point out the fact that I'm older than you." He smiled, tapping her nose with his finger.

She wrinkled up her nose in a way that Eugene thought was adorable and swatted his arm.

Eugene pointed to a building to his left and said, "There's the orphanage I grew up in."

"Really?" Rapunzel asked excitedly, eager to hear about Eugene's childhood.

"Yep. Since I was five." He answered.

"Can we go in there and play with the kids?" Rapunzel asked hopefully.

"We probably don't have time today. Once you get in there, they never want you to leave." He said, recalling the times he'd been in there recently.

"Okay. Well, we'll have to come some other time, then." She decided.

They walked farther, twisting and turning through the maze of shops, houses, and villagers.

"Is it just me, or has that guy been creepily following us this whole time?" Eugene asked, pointing at a man looking around apprehensively.

The man was rather large and was wearing a brown, beat-up outfit with long, loose sleeves that came past his hands, so that you couldn't see them. He had a reddish-brown strange sort of mustache that outlined the corners of his mouth, and his off-white colored hair hung down to his chin in some sort of ringlets or twists. Actually, to think about it, it greatly resembled a mop.

Rapunzel giggled.

"I think he has. What do you think he's doing?"

"I don't know. What _I_ want to know is why he's wearing a mop on his head." Eugene stated.

"Do you think that really is a mop?" Rapunzel asked.

"It sure looks like it. I mean, honestly, who has that kind of hair?" Eugene reasoned.

"That guy, apparently." She answered. "But, I mean – "

Unexpectedly, Eugene swiftly pulled her into an alley and took her into his arms, kissing her deeply.

When they broke apart, Rapunzel gave him a curious look and he laughed.

"Guards." He answered.

"Ah," Rapunzel replied, "So I'm kind of like your get out of jail free card?"

"Yep. You know, climb up a girl's tower, get hit in the head with a frying pan so many times you can't remember ("It was three, Eugene." "Nuance."), take her to see the lights and almost get killed several times in the process, then actually get killed for real, come back to life, and take home said girl, who realized she's the Lost Princess, just so I can pull you into an alley and kiss you so the guards won't see me, put me and jail and hang me." Eugene answered teasingly.

"Mhmm. Sounds like a stupendous, Flynn Rider plan." Rapunzel agreed.

"Shh. Don't say the word Flynn Rider. It attracts attention." He warned her, looking around.

Rapunzel giggled. "Sorry. And that's two words."

"Getting a little smart, are we?" Eugene teased, leading her out of the alley.

"I always _was_ smart, Eugene Fitzherbert."

"Possibly true, Blondie. I was probably just too busy dealing with my superhuman good looks or my concussion, thanks to your frying pan, to notice." Eugene considered.

"It was not a concussion, Eugene!"

"Was too. I've got bruises to prove it."

"That doesn't mean anything. But then again, that pretty much was my desired goal; I just didn't quite know it at the time. Further proving that I always was smart."

"_Oh,_ so you _wanted_ to kill me with your frying pan?"

Rapunzel yanked Eugene behind the building they were next to and embraced his lips with hers.

"Guards." She explained when they broke apart, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Of course, Blondie." He said with a knowing look.

Rapunzel started to hear sweet, melodious music filling the air, so she grabbed Eugene's hand and followed it to one of the town squares.

"C'mon, Eugene, let's dance!" she said to Eugene, tugging on his arm.

"But we already dance today – " Eugene protested.

"Night!" Rapunzel corrected.

"Whatever! _Night_, and you saw how bad I was."

"What was bad about it?" Rapunzel questioned, tilting her head in confusion.

"Only the fact that we fell down twice in the span of five minutes."

Rapunzel shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh well." She said as Eugene allowed himself to be pulled in. They joined the end of the line of dancers.

As they danced, they saw a couple of thugs fighting loudly in front of some guards who looked like they were trying to look past the men get a look at the dancers.

"Uh-oh. Guards. On my right." Eugene murmured to Rapunzel, nodding his head in their direction.

Rapunzel discreetly peeked at the guards and then turned her attention back to Eugene to give him a surprised and questioning look.

"Looks like we're gonna have to switch up the dance a little, Blondie."

He took hold of her hand, ducked down low, and led her down the middle of the rows of dancers. Soon, the other dancers caught on to the dance change and began doing the appropriate dance.

After moving all the way down the whole row, they ended up at the other end, as far away from the guards as they could and still be in the dance.

But after Rapunzel and Eugene's spontaneous move, everyone else seemed to want to do the same, because within a few minutes everyone was dancing around in the square, altogether in one big, unrelated dance.

oOo

Rapunzel flitted around the village for hours with Eugene right by her side, doing more dancing, taking down and drawing on the Flynn Rider wanted posters (it seemed that they just kept appearing), playing with the children, and exploring until the sun was about to set.

"Rapunzel," Eugene said, catching her elbow as she almost flew by him. "You about ready to head to the castle?"

Somehow, some way that Eugene didn't understand, guards hadn't caught them this whole day. In fact, he'd seen more large, badly disguised men who looked like they could regulars at the Snuggly Duckling than he had guards. Which was strange, because most of them never came into the city. But anyway, he didn't want to press his luck more than he already had, and they needed to get to the castle soon. The only thing about that was that he and Rapunzel couldn't get into the castle without facing guards.

Eugene was still working on that one.

Rapunzel nodded her head.

"Yeah, I guess I'm ready. I want to say bye to the children, and then we can go." Rapunzel agreed.

She called all the children together and told them goodbye as a group, then hugged and personally told each one goodbye.

As she did so, Eugene couldn't help but remember the image in his head that had appeared this afternoon. She loved kids, and they loved her. She'd be an amazing mother.

Eugene shook his head, trying to shake off his thoughts. What was _up_ with him today?

**A/N: How was it? REEEEEVIIEEEEW and tell me! Constructive criticism is welcome! I only skimmed through it before I posted it, so there might be some mistakes you'll have to excuse. Oh, also! I know I said that Eugene is 21, and his official age is 26. Well, I think that's too far of an age gap, so in my mind, he's 21 when he meets Punzie.  
>Anywho, review!<strong>


	7. I'm the Lost Princess!

**A/N: Hello! Here we are, chapter 7! I can't believe it's chapter 7 already! But anyway. Not sure I'm happy with the chapter title (yes, again.), I may rename it in the future. And I'm not extremely overjoyed with how this turned out, but it'll work :)  
><strong>**Oh, and last night at the park, they showed Tangled, and me and my sister went to see it, and there was this adorable little girl, who was probably two or three, next to us, wearing a Rapunzel costume, and she brought a Rapunzel barbie. And during all the songs and the Kingdom Dance, she'd get up and bounce up and down and dance :) She was adorable :) Anyway, on with the story!**

**So, uh, I don't own Tangled, buuuut, ya see... *casually hits random person who works for Disney who is holding the rights to Tangled in their hands over the head with a frying pan* Muaha! Too weak to own Tangled myself, huh, Disney? Well, tell that to my frying pan. *accidentally hits self with frying pan*.**

Eugene and Rapunzel walked hand in hand along the swirling pathways, making their way up to the castle grounds.

"Oh, and Eugene, look at this picture!" Rapunzel exclaimed, thumbing through the wanted posters in her hand.

"See?" she said, holding one up so that Eugene could see the picture on the back.

"Mhmm." He said, smiling. "But why is there a crystal ball and a monkey wearing a turban and a diaper?"

Rapunzel shrugged her shoulders. "Eh. I don't know."

Eugene laughed and she found another drawing to show him.

"And look at this one!" she said, holding up a picture of her singing with the Snuggly Duckling thugs.

"I like it." He said.

"I do too." Rapunzel said, flipping through the pages. "Can I put them in your satchel till I figure out what to do with them?"

"Sure." He said, opening the satchel at his side.

"So they took the crown but gave you back the satchel, huh?" Rapunzel asked as she put the posters inside the bag.

"Yep. I don't know why, because it could really be worth something! I mean, everyone would want to have the satchel of Flynn Rider."

Rapunzel laughed.

"Aw, Eugene, look at that cute couple!" she said, pointing at a couple walking down the cobblestone paths, toward the beach. "They're definitely going to get married."

The girl's big, sapphire blue eyes shined as she threw back her head and laughed, making her wavy chocolate brown locks tumble down her back.

The man next to her looked lovingly at her with his grey-blue eyes and smiled as he grasped her hand.

Eugene laughed. "How do you even know that they're together? They might be brother and sister or something."

Rapunzel gave him a shocked face. "Eugene! How could you think they're brother and sister?"

"Well, how am I supposed to tell?" he asked.

"You just _can_! You'd think _you_ were the one locked up in a tower for eighteen years, goodness!" Rapunzel said. "They're gonna get married." She assured him.

"Whatever you say, Blondie." He said.

"You don't think they're going to, do you?" Rapunzel countered.

"Well, I mean, just because they're walking together doesn't mean they're going to get married…" Eugene said.

"It's not the fact that they're walking together, it's _how_ they're doing it! You'll see, someday, that I'm right." She said, skipping ahead of him.

"So what do you think my family is going to be like?" she asked a while later.

Eugene racked his brain for everything he'd ever heard about the Kind and Queen. Well, most everyone loved them, and he'd heard that they were very kind and generous. They had another daughter, one older than Rapunzel, and it had been rumored that she was soon to be engaged.

"Well," Eugene started, "I've heard that your parents are very kind and good rulers. Everyone seems to like them. And you look exactly like the Queen. They've got a daughter a little bit older than you, so you'll have a sister."

"Ooh!" Rapunzel squealed, "I've never had a sister. Oh, I'll bet it's wonderful! Have you ever had one?"

Eugene grimaced, and almost as soon as Rapunzel said it, she regretted it and her hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh, Eugene, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I was so excited and I wasn't thinking and it just came – "

"It's okay." He interrupted, "I did have a sister. More than one, actually. But how about I tell you about that later, so I don't get so caught up in the story that I run smack dab into a guard?"

Rapunzel laughed and nodded her head. "Deal."

Rapunzel looked around at the villagers walking around in the streets.

"What do you think the kingdom is going to think? What if they don't like me?" she asked worriedly.

"Rapunzel, you know what they're going to do?" Eugene said, pulling her aside, under a tree with pink blooms.

Rapunzel shook her head with a smile in response.

Eugene shook the tree they were under, making the pink blooms fall to the ground around them.

"Confetti." He explained, motioning to the falling flowers.

Then he took her into his arms and kissed her.

"That," he said, "is what they're going to do."

Rapunzel reached up and plucked a pink flower out of Eugene's hair.

"Oh, so they're going to kiss me?" Rapunzel asked teasingly.

"Nah," Eugene said, playing with the petals on the flower in Rapunzel's hand, "Only I get to do that. But they'll probably want to. Actually, the villager little boys already want to, so…"

"What?" Rapunzel asked, tilting her head.

"Yep. They were fighting over you this afternoon. But anyway, point being that they'll love you, and be so excited when they find out that you're back that they'll throw confetti all over."

"I don't think that's exactly how they'll react, but thank you." Rapunzel smiled.

She giggled and pulled him back on the path, eager to get to the castle.

As they neared the castle grounds, Eugene noticed that she hadn't asked how he planned to get past the guards. But he supposed it was just as well, as he was still working on a plan. He guessed he'd just play it by ear.

Suddenly, Rapunzel ran up to a guard and grabbed his armor, jerking him forward.

"Guess what!" she squealed excitedly. "I'm the Lost Princess!"

The confused guard looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide if he believed her or not. Other guards approached them, apparently wondering what was going on.

Then, as if suddenly the guard was given a revelation, his face changed into a look of astonishment, nodding in confirmation as he stepped backward. The other guards soon took his place and stepped closer to Rapunzel too see her better, and a stunned look crossed their faces.

"He's not bringing you back, is he?" one guard asked, pointing to Eugene.

"Yes, in fact he is. He was the one who saved me." Rapunzel told them proudly.

The guards didn't seem to know if they believed her, Eugene was sure he heard one mutter "Impossible!" to another, but the guards set about their work anyway.

"Danielson, go get their Majesties. Collins, go with him. We'll take these two to the lantern balcony." A guard began directing.

The guard Rapunzel had approached and another ran off into the castle, leaving two others with Eugene and Rapunzel.

"Follow us." The one who had given directions said.

They were taken to the balcony, where they were told that the King and Queen would meet them out there shortly.

Then, the guards left, the door closed and Eugene and Rapunzel were left to await the arrival of the King and Queen.

Rapunzel stood at the end of the balcony, resting her hands on the rails and leaning forwards. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to take in the moment.

"Wow." She breathed, opening her eyes.

"What?" Eugene asked, turning to her.

"It's just that – for eighteen years, my parents have stood out here, releasing lanterns to call me home. And now, finally, they're going to meet me out here."

"Yeah. Eighteen years. I can't even imagine that. Or how it felt like before when they thought maybe they'd found you, but it was just a someone pretending to be you."

Rapunzel looked shocked.

"People do that?"

Eugene nodded his head.

"Are you at all scared?" he asked softly.

"Pssh, bring on all the pretenders, I'm not afraid!" she said triumphantly.

But in a moment, her shoulders sank a little.

"Well, maybe. A little bit. Eugene? I'm terrified. I just want them to know it's me and love me so bad. But what if they don't?"

"They will." He promised, wrapping his arms around her middle. "They have to know it's you. You look so much like them, they have to know." He said, stepping back to look at her. "And how could they not love you, Blondie?"

Rapunzel shrugged her shoulders.

"Eugene? Will you take a moment here? Promise me this. Promise me that you'll stand by me forever, and – "

"I told you I never planned on leaving you again, Blondie."

"I know, I know. But if fate should step in – since I can't change it's design any more - ," she laughed a little, "And we're forced into a goodbye, well…"

Eugene knew it was possible, even probable that they'd be forced into a goodbye, but everything inside of him screamed that he never wanted to say goodbye to her.

"If you ever have children someday, when they point to the pictures," she motioned to his satchel, where the wanted posters were, and to the mural of the Royals where she was a baby, "please tell them my name. Tell them all about our dragon-fighting adventures together. How I had the time of my life with you. And if no one believes that I'm the Lost Princess, tell them that I am. Tell them how I hope they shine, just like those lanterns do. Promise?" she looked up at him with her big green eyes expectantly.

When she said the word "children", Eugene's mind had immediately flashed back to the vision he'd had this afternoon. But even as strange as it had seemed, he couldn't even imagine having children if they weren't his and Rapunzel's. If they were forced into a goodbye…what would he even _do_? That is, if he wasn't killed.

So, he promised her and hoped that things never came to that.

"I promise." He said, kissing her forehead. "And when I promise something, I never, _ever_ break that promise. _Ever_."

Rapunzel looked up and beamed at him.

Both turned their gazes to the setting sun and stood there, hand in hand, awaiting the moment that had been anticipated for eighteen years.

**A/N: Soo, review and tell me watcha thought! And FYI, the first picture Rapunzel shows Eugene is the one shown in the end credits in the movie that came from a deleted scene, in case you wanted to know. I just decided I wanted her to randomly draw it :)  
>But anyway, review!<strong>


	8. Meeting the Family

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry this took a week, this one was hard to write, even though I had part of it already typed up. I'm still not sure I'm completely happy with it, but maybe it's just cause it's not too fluffy. I don't know. And just so you know, I re-named chapter three bc it went with the lyrics, and I also added a phrase at the end that I realized I hadn't put in there when I was working on the songfic for the end of this! So that's why yall might've gotten more than one chapter update alert. Anyway, here we are!**

**I don't own Tangled!**

The sound of doors opening met Eugene and Rapunzel's ears and they turned to see the amazed King and Queen standing on the steps.

Rapunzel nervously took a few steps forward, and the Queen fixated her eyes on Rapunzel before slowly walking towards her.

The two never took their eyes off each other with each step they took closer toward one another. The Queen reached out a hand and cupped Rapunzel's cheek with it before breathing a sigh of relief, almost laughing, as if confirming that Rapunzel was her daughter.

Rapunzel, too, smiled and sighed before the Queen gathered her into a hug, which Rapunzel gladly returned.

She looked up at her father with her big green eyes, and he chuckled before wrapping his arms around both.

Eugene watched them contentedly knowing that his job as Rapunzel's guide was completed: he'd returned her home safely, just as he promised. He wanted to stay with Rapunzel – oh how much he wanted to – but he knew that if he still had to be hanged (because he did deserve it, after all), he could do it knowing that Rapunzel was safe, and with a family who truly loved her.

A voice in the back of his mind wished that he had a family like that. But he pushed away the thought, scolding himself. This was Rapunzel's moment, and he shouldn't ruin it by feeling sorry for himself.

Then, the Queen gratefully reached out her hand to him. When he took it, she unexpectedly jerked him into a hug with the rest of the family.

How long they stayed like this, they didn't know, but they knew one thing: Rapunzel was home.

When they finally broke apart, Queen Rosemary settled back and looked at her daughter.

"So, tell us how you got here." She said.

"Well," Rapunzel said, "First, just so you know, this is Eugene. He's the one who brought me back."

Rosemary smiled warmly at Eugene and King Jonathan reached out a hand to him. As Rapunzel watched Eugene take it, she couldn't help but smile at Eugene's nervousness he was trying to hide. She didn't think anyone else noticed, but she did. Either way, it made her smile.

"Anyway," she started, smiling at Eugene, "I lived in a tower my whole life. That is, until two days ago when a thief stumbled inside…"

oOo

An hour or two later, the Queen and Rapunzel were sitting in the library after Rapunzel told the story of her return. Jonathan had requested to speak with Eugene, so the mother and daughter took the time to get better acquainted.

"Ah, Rose must be back." Rosemary said upon hearing the sound of footsteps darting down the hallway. Soon, the library doors flew open and a young girl – who, in fact, was the same one Rapunzel had seen with her beau in the village earlier this evening - emerged.

"Mama! You'll never guess what just happened!" Rose exclaimed, bursting into the library, giggling a bit. Her hair was damp, her white dress, though dried a bit by the sun and ocean air, had dripped salt water on the castle floors a few times, and she had sand in her shoes and so many other places, but she couldn't care too much less.

Her mother, talking to a young woman sitting next to her with cropped brown hair and big green eyes, looked up at her with a smile, and Rose stopped in her tracks. Was that-? No, it must be some relative. Though she was young at the time, she distinctly remembered her baby sister had blonde hair that everyone said was unusually long (Rose had never seen what the big deal was. Yep, her baby sister had long hair. It was cool. So what?). But those eyes…they were so much like her mother's…

"Mama?" Rose asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her mother smiled warmly. "Rosie, darling, you remember your sister, don't you?"

Rose lifted her left hand to her o-shaped mouth, her diamond ring sparkling in the last beam of sunlight before the sun disappeared into the horizon. The girl before her smiled hopefully and a bit nervously, and in that instant, it clicked. This girl's brown hair, the brown lock of hair in the bassinet…this was her baby sister.

The Queen, taking note of her hand, kept smiling as her eldest daughter ran forward and gathered her youngest into a hug. "Ah, and I see Wilson has finally popped the question."

"Oh, yes, Mama, we were at the beach, and we had our picnic, and it was amazing, and-well, that's not that important right now. I wanna know where in the world you've been for eighteen years!" Rose exclaimed, with a huge smile on her face.

Rapunzel smiled and looked at her mother.

"I think this is the fourth or fifth time I've told this story today!" Rapunzel said.

"And I have a feeling you'll be telling it many more times in years to come, darling." The Queen smiled.

Meanwhile, the King was having an interesting conversation with Eugene in his study.

"If you don't mind my asking, I'd like to know your intentions with my daughter." The King said.

From the look on the King's face and his tone of his voice, Eugene dared not say he minded being asked.

"Intentions?"

"I may be persuaded to pardon you of your crimes, as you've returned and sacrificed your life for my daughter." Jonathan stated simply.

Well, then. That definitely answered Eugene's question.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I – "

"As you must know, whoever brings back the Lost Princess is to be rewarded. What is it you're wanting as a reward?"

Eugene didn't know what to say. The riches and islands that he was sure the King could provide didn't even tempt him now. What he really wanted was to be with Rapunzel, but he was pretty sure that wasn't possible or what the King had in mind.

"Um, well, I…I'm not really sure…"

"If you're wanting wealth and such, if I find it suitable, I will give it to you, and you may be on your way. But I have a feeling that's not exactly what you want anymore."

"I-I don't really know..." Eugene nervously put his hand behind his neck. "I'm not exactly sure that's what I want anymore. A few days ago, maybe. But…Rapunzel…she…"

Eugene could feel the beads of sweat on his forehead as the King looked at him expectantly.

"Well, Sire, I'd just kind of like to…you know, stay with her for a while."

Jonathan nodded knowingly.

"I see. I'll give you about a week for you to make a final decision and for me to think it over."

Eugene nodded.

"Thank you, Sir."

As the King continued, Eugene knew this was going to be a nerve-racking, long, and unpredictable conversation. But thankfully, he survived it without getting sentenced to the gallows or anything, and the two men returned to the library to be met by the three ladies inside.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel squealed, running to him and giving him a hug. "You're back!"

"Did you think I wasn't going to come back?" he asked jokingly as she pulled back.

Rapunzel shrugged and Rose hurried to their side.

"This is Eugene?" Rose asked excitedly.

"Yes! Eugene, this is Rose, my sister!" Rapunzel explained animatedly.

Before Eugene could say anything, the King spoke up.

"We've decided we'll tell the kingdom of Rapunzel's return tomorrow, if that's all right with her. Of course, we could wait until later, if you'd rather. "

Rapunzel clapped her hands in excitement.

"No, that sounds wonderful!" she said. "I can't wait!"

oOo

Later that night, Rose and Rapunzel sat in their nightgowns in Rapunzel's room, getting to know each other better in hushed tones and giggles.

"So, I've got a question. Is my name really Rapunzel?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yep." Rose responded, "Rapunzel Aubrianna. I remember when we named you. It was a big deal, since you were a princess. But everyone thought it was cute that both our names started with an 'R' and were names of flowers."

Rapunzel smiled. "That is a cute idea."

"So tell me about Eugene." Rose said, rolling over onto her back.

Rapunzel gave her a questioning look.

"What are you wanting to know?" she asked.

"Well, you know, you already told us your story, but how exactly do you feel about him?"

"Well…" Rapunzel began, looking around the room, trying to figure out what to say. "I…Oh, they just can't hang him or take him away for being Flynn Rider! I know what he did before, but he's changed. I know it. He has."

Rose nodded her head knowingly.

"So I'm guessing that the whole dying for you thing was…you know, more than…"

Rapunzel nodded.

"Know what he told me?"

Rose nodded and leaned forward excitedly.

"Well, right before we saw the lanterns last night, I was terrified because I didn't know if they'd be everything I dreamed they'd be. But even if they were, what was I going to do afterwards? And he told me that I got to go find a new dream. Then, right before he died, he told me that I was his new dream."

Rose beamed and squealed, quite elated, and hugged a pillow to her chest.

"That is so adorable!" she bubbled. "So, uh, can we expect him to be sticking around?"

"That's the thing! I want him to, so much, but I don't know if they'll let him. But he can't just leave!"

Rose nodded sympathetically.

"He can't. It'll work out, you'll see." She assured her.

"I hope so. So tell me about Wilson." Rapunzel said slyly, pointing to the ring on her sister's finger.

Rose giggled.

"Oh, Wilson. He's such a sweetie, I love him. Well, you heard how he proposed this afternoon. I'm sad he had to return home before you could meet him, though! He's from a small neighboring island. His father is the king of the island, and he has an older brother who's to inherit the throne. So, when we get married, he'll come to live here, and whenever Mom and Dad are done ruling, then Wilson and I will be the king and queen. And I've been told that in the event that you returned, you and I and whoever we choose to marry would all rule together. Unless one of our husbands is in line for the throne to his kingdom."

"Ooh!" Rapunzel said. "So how did you two meet?"

"At a ball a few years ago. We kept in contact since then, and a year ago he asked Father to court me. And here we are!"

"That's sweet." Rapunzel smiled. "When are you going to get married?"

"I don't know. Soon, probably. Probably in the spring. Oh, I just love him so much. I can't wait for you to meet him! I'm just so unbelievably happy and excited right now! This is seriously the best day of my life!" Rose exclaimed, grabbing Rapunzel's hands and falling back into the pillows.

Across the hall, Eugene lay in bed, trying to go to sleep.

It had been a very long day, and he was exhausted, but he just couldn't sleep. You'd think after a day of escaping prison and the gallows, getting stabbed, coming back to life, bringing Rapunzel back to the kingdom and her parents, and having that conversation with the King – all on three, maybe four hours of sleep - that he'd be able to sleep now.

But he couldn't.

Too much on his mind, he guessed.

He couldn't believe he'd actually gotten Rapunzel back without getting killed. Well, okay, technically, he did die this morning, but not trying to get her back home. Although, he was pretty sure that the Snuggly Duckling thugs had something to do with the fact that the guards never saw him.

But what was he going to do now? Yes, the King and Queen had told him that he could stay there for the time being (at least until the end of the week, anyway), but would he really be allowed to stay here? If anything, the guards would kill him.

And if he couldn't stay here, he didn't know what he'd do.

How could he leave Rapunzel? Even against his will?

He sighed and rolled over, willing himself to go to sleep. Right now, Rapunzel's return was to be announced in the morning, and he was sure he'd need rest for whatever adventure Rapunzel would find.

Meanwhile, the King and Queen of Corona were in their bedchambers, about to settle down for the night.

"They seem to be quite attached to one another." Rosemary said to her husband as she stood in front of the mirror, removing her earrings.

"Indeed. Eugene didn't seem to want a reward when I asked him tonight. He finally got it out that he wanted to be with her."

"You seem to have the intimidation tactic down." The Queen observed.

"Probably due to the fact that I can order him to be hanged any time at the snap of my fingers."

Rosemary laughed.

"Probably. You do think he's changed, don't you?"

"Perhaps. I'll have to watch him around Rapunzel this week."

"He saved and died for her." Rosemary stated.

Jonathan came up behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her and said, "But to think that he died for her, not even knowing she was the Lost Princess makes me think he has changed."

"I do hope so." The Queen responded. "Do you think we'll be able to be good parents to her?"

"I should think so, dear. We raised Rose just fine."

"Yes, but Rose wasn't kidnapped days after her birth, dear. I'm just…afraid we won't be the parents Rapunzel needs. And it just kills me to think that she thought that woman was her _mother_ for all those years. And there's nothing I can do about it to change it. No matter how hard I try or want it to happen, I'll never be able to get back that lost time." Rosemary sighed sadly.

"You're right. There's no way we can get back those eighteen years. But we can be the best parents to her now that we have her back."

Rosemary nodded, knowing that everything they had gone through and were going to go through would be worth it to have their daughter back.

**A/N: How did you like it? I thought it was a little choppy, I don't know...but anyway, review and tell me what you thought! **


	9. Confetti Falls to the Ground

**A/N: Hello! Sorry 'bout the wait, I went to go visit my grandma for a few days and was thinking I'd have internet to post this when I finished it at her assisted living place. But I didn't :P But anyway, here it is! **

**You know, old people crack me up. They're so hilarious sometimes! Like, when they make up stories that didn't happen, but they think it's totally the truth. So, maybe someday, when I get old, I'll think Tangled is mine. That'd be awesome, because I'd own Tangled (in my mind, at least.) ! But, alas, at the moment I do not. But that doesn't mean I won't someday (in my mind)!**

Rapunzel awoke the next morning, blinking at the light streaming in through the windows, trying to figure out where she was.

She sat up, looking at the beautiful room she was in. She ran her fingers through her hair and started a bit when she felt the ends of it.

Oh, yeah. The whole Eugene cutting her hair to save her thing. And the whole Lost Princess thing.

And speaking of the Lost Princess thing, her return was supposed to be announced this morning. She was nervous, excited, scared, and completely happy, all at the same time.

There was a knock at the door and the voice of the Queen soon followed it.

"Girls? Are you two about ready for breakfast?" she asked.

Rose, who had decided to sleep in Rapunzel's room, sleepily lifted her head from her pillow. Her eyes widened when she realized what her mother said.

"Uh, just a second, Mama!" she called, throwing back the covers and leaping out of bed.

Rapunzel swung her legs over the side of the bed placed her bare feet on the ground, knowing they had to get ready quickly. The announcement was supposed to be shortly after breakfast, and they were supposed to be at breakfast now.

Rose ran out into the hallway after she heard her mother leave and darted into her room, which was next to Rapunzel's. Once inside, she yanked open the door that connected the two rooms.

"We've gotta do this fast." She said, pulling her nightgown over her head and running to her wardrobe.

"I know! I can't believe we slept this late." Rapunzel said, splashing her face with water from the basin at her nightstand.

"The maids almost always come in and wake me up way before breakfast, even when I tell them I don't want them to. But of course not this morning. I don't like the maids. They hate me." Rose grumbled, rummaging around for something.

Rapunzel pulled on a dress that had been laid out the night before for her to wear today. She sighed as she ran a brush through her now-brown, short hair and looked in the mirror, missing her long blonde locks, though she was very thankful to Eugene for what he did for her and to be free from captivity.

Not even bothering to put on shoes, the girls hurried out the door and down to the dining room, where they were greeted by their parents and Eugene.

Fortunately for the girls, after breakfast a few of the King's advisers and a few guards had called together an "urgent meeting" with the King, supposedly regarding the Lost Princess's return, postponing the announcement to the kingdom for a bit.

But as the King listened to the men talk, he realized that this had much more to do with Flynn Rider.

"All due respect, Your Majesty, but how do you know it's her? What if it's another one of Rider's ploys?"

King Jonathan shook his head.

"She looks almost exactly like your Queen. And her story fits. We just…_know_. It's her. Do you doubt my ability to recognize my own daughter?"

"No, no, no, Your Majesty. I'm sure it's her. But what about Rider?"

"He returned her. We always said that whoever returned the Lost Princess would be rewarded." The King responded.

"Exactly what kind of reward, sire?"

"We're not certain yet. I've given him until the end of the week to make a final decision." Jonathan informed the men.

"He gets to choose, Your Majesty?" one adviser asked.

"He brought her back and should be treated the same as any other." King Jonathan said simply.

"But he's a wanted thief!

"The Princess trusts him. And from what I've observed, they seem quite fond of one another." The King replied.

The men in the room looked horrified.

"Your Majesty!" one exclaimed. "You cannot let them continue this! What if she eventually wants to marry Rider? She cannot marry a disgusting, lying thief! Do you realize what that would mean? The man would eventually be a king and rule Corona! All the more reason to hang him now!"

"No. We will wait until we tell the kingdom and the celebration is over until we make a final decision of what to do with him. And as far as I'm concerned, as long as I approve, Princess Rapunzel may marry whomever she wishes when the time comes." King Jonathan affirmed.

The men were obviously outraged that nothing negative was happening to Eugene, though he was the one who returned their Lost Princess.

"This is absurd!" one man screamed.

"We cannot let a band of thieves rule Corona, even for a moment!"

"Rider cannot go unpunished!"

"Flynn Rider is a _thief_. A liar. He's untrustworthy."

The King slammed his fist on the table beside him to silence the men.

"Eugene Fitzherbert returned my daughter, the Lost Princess, and will be treated as any other." He declared.

The men stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded.

"Very well," one guard huffed, "for the time _being_, Flynn Rider will go unpunished."

As the King sat, staring at the wall as the men left, he couldn't help but think that maybe they were right. Maybe the man wasn't trustworthy, and maybe he should be punished.

But how could he take him away from Rapunzel? He couldn't start off his relationship with his daughter by stripping away the man who saved her. How could he do that to her?

But if Fitzherbert got his reward and left, Rapunzel would almost certainly heartbroken, as she seemed very attached to him.

Jonathan sighed as he stood up, pushing these thoughts to the back of his mind, telling himself that he didn't need to worry about this just yet. At least not at the moment. For now, he had an announcement to give.

Once the King returned to the rest of the family and Eugene, they informed the guards they were ready to make the announcement and headed towards to balcony.

As they walked, Eugene came up behind Rapunzel and whispered in her ear.

"Don't worry, Blondie. You'll do great. Everyone is going to love you." He assured her, softly rubbing her shoulders for a moment.

"You think?" Rapunzel asked hopefully.

Eugene grinned at her.

"I _know_. You're way over-thinking this."

Rapunzel giggled.

"At least this time you're not telling me to break someone's heart and crush their soul." Rapunzel said.

"Yes, but aren't you glad I did tell you that at one time?" Eugene smirked.

"Yes." Rapunzel smiled, swinging their entwined hands.

As the balcony doors opened, and Rapunzel saw the crowds that had gathered in the kingdom, her mind captured the moment, as if silently whispering, "_Remember this moment._"

Rapunzel stood at the balcony she'd stood at the night before when she was waiting to meet her parents – the same balcony that her parents released lanterns on every year with Eugene, Rose, and her parents standing beside her.

The excited buzz of the crowd below echoed through her ears as the people anxiously awaited the announcement talked of what they thought it was concerning. Rumor already had found its way to the kingdom, saying that the Lost Princess had returned.

But despite the people's excitement and her outward smile, she was nervous about her father's announcement.

She was scared that the people wouldn't like her. That they wouldn't believe that she was the Lost Princess. And they'd all gathered together to hear the announcement – what if they were disappointed?

Eugene came to her side, sensing her worry and took her trembling hand in his, kissing it softly.

"Don't worry. I love you, your family loves you, and that's all that matters. But I'm sure that everyone else will too." He whispered.

She smiled her thanks and tried not to worry, but it still scared her to think about what this all meant, like that someday she'd be the Queen of Corona.

But for now, this was a day she knew she'd never forget.

Her father walked to the balcony's edge and cleared his throat.

"Good morning, faithful citizens of Corona. Today I have a very important announcement to make. As most of you know, two days ago was the Lost Princess's eighteenth birthday, and we again sent out lanterns to call her home, as tradition, and I am pleased to tell you that she was returned to us last night by Eugene Fitzherbert, formerly known as Flynn Rider."

She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding as the air filled with sounds of rejoicing and happiness as the crowd cheered, though they were confused by the Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert business.

"And if you are willing to listen, she would like to tell her story." Her father told the crowds.

Eugene squeezed Rapunzel's hand to encourage her and she stepped closer to the crowds, resting her fingertips on the balcony railing. She drew in a deep breath and began.

"Well, for eighteen years, I lived in a tower in the forest, and I had seventy feet of long, blonde hair that glowed and healed when I sang this song. But the day before my birthday, Eugene climbed up to my tower. My whole life, I'd seen those lanterns you all sent out for me, and I'd been dreaming to see them in person. So, I made a deal with him, and made him take me to see the lights…"

She enchanted the crowds as she began the tale of how she left her tower. The people listened anxiously as she told about their adventures of singing with the Snuggly Duckling thugs, escaping the palace guards, getting trapped in the cave, and finally getting to the kingdom. Their eyes were filled with wonder and knowing delight when she told about getting to see her dream at last. They reflected her look of sadness when she recounted how she was tricked into thinking that Eugene had betrayed her and when he came back to rescue her, only to be stabbed by her fake mother, and they cheered and clapped when she finished.

Her father stepped forward and stood next to her with her crown in hand. He turned towards her and ceremoniously placed the crown on her head. He stepped back and declared, "I give you Princess Rapunzel Aubrianna of Corona!"

The crowds went wild, cheering and clapping and celebrating the return of their once lost Princess.

"Long live Princess Rapunzel! Long live!" they cried.

Rapunzel beamed, a feeling of relief and acceptance washing over her as she looked out over her kingdom.

"Long live!" Rapunzel screamed with delight unexpectedly. She giggled and covered her mouth with her hands.

And that began the weeklong celebration of the Lost Princess's return.

Rapunzel spent the week exploring the kingdom and enjoying the festivities with Eugene and her new family between talking with the townspeople and playing with their children, who loved the Princesses and Eugene.

By the end of the week, the children had dubbed Eugene "Uncle Eugene" and constantly followed him around (But he learned that they quickly skedaddled when he and Rapunzel were being "yucky", as the children called it). But not that he minded it, of course. It reminded him of his childhood days, especially given the fact that many of them were from the orphanage, as he was.

"Eugene! You have to promise you'll come see us sometime and tell us more stories." One little girl of about five or six from the orphanage informed him one day near the end of the week.

"Okay, Violet." Eugene agreed.

"Pinky promise?" Violet asked, holding out her pinky and looking up at him seriously with her big brown eyes.

"Promise." Eugene said, accepting her pinky.

One day, Rose and Rapunzel discovered a folklore saying that if you slept on seven wildflowers on Midsummer's Eve (which happened to be that week), you would dream of the one you would marry. So they decided to try it and went to a beautiful field filled with wildflowers to gather their wildflowers on the evening of Midsummer's Eve. Eugene wanted to try very badly, though the girls insisted that the folklore was only for girls, but he finally backed off when Rapunzel threatened to get her frying pan and "_make_ him stay there".

The night's dreams revealed that Rapunzel would marry either Pascal, Eugene, or a man that she couldn't see the face of, as she dreamed that she kissed Pascal, and man appeared for a moment, and then Eugene and Pascal fought over "national secrets".

Rose, who dreamed that she was a fairy and trying to turn Wilson into a piece of grass, jokingly said she would probably either marry a piece of grass, or Wilson would get turned into one.

Later that week, Rapunzel really did find her frying pan and use it on Eugene (though of course, on accident this time).

"I am confiscating that frying pan!" Eugene yelled, chasing Rapunzel down the castle hallways after she'd dropped in his room and teasingly informed him that she had her frying pan in hand and wasn't afraid to use it.

"But Eugene, then how would I protect myself against ruffians and thugs?" Rapunzel asked innocently as she still ran ahead of Eugene.

"Bringing up the subject of dreams worked quite well last time and seems to be their weakness, so I wouldn't worry about it, Blondie." He answered her.

Rapunzel just giggled and kept running for the sake of keeping the best weapon in the kingdom in her hands.

"So where'd you hide it this time?" Eugene asked her.

"I didn't hide it, Eugene. _You_ just simply didn't know where it was!" Rapunzel replied.

"Yes I did! Like I told you the other day, it was somewhere obvious. Like that pot." He said, pointing to a pot in the hallway.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed, whirling around, still clutching her frying pan.

But she wasn't expecting Eugene to be so close behind her.

Or to accidentally hit him in the head.

Or knock him out.

And apparently, fourth time was a charm and must've done more damage, because after that, he had quite a bit of trouble remembering the last few days of the celebration.

They'd laughed and playfully bickered about it for days, Eugene complaining and playing up the collisions between his head and the frying pan, Rapunzel defending herself and telling Eugene he needed to watch where he was going.

But thankfully, Eugene remembered enough to be able to have his conversation with the King by the end of the week. But just because he was capable of doing it didn't mean he wasn't extremely nervous.

"Now, after having this week to think about it, I will ask you again what you want as a reward." King Jonathan said as he and Eugene sat in his study.

"Well…after thinking about it a while…I know I want Rapunzel to be happy. And if I'd be allowed to stay with her, I think that's what would make her happy. And I would really love that, too. That would be…amazing. But if that's not how things are supposed to be, and I can't be with her, then…" Eugene trailed off.

"Before I make a conclusion, I'd like to ask you what your intentions are if I do let you stay." Jonathan said.

"Well, I guess…I'm not exactly sure. I told her on our way back to the kingdom that I never planned on leaving her again. And I meant it."

The King leaned back in his chair with a smug look Eugene couldn't quite read. He seemed to perhaps want to know more, but looked content and like he understood the whole situation and was quite proud of himself for it.

"I will let you stay, at least until further notice, under the condition that you treat Rapunzel and the rest of the palace's occupants well and prove to us that you have reformed your thieving ways. Do not, I repeat, do not hurt her in any way, or I will immediately have you sent to the gallows and hanged, if not more."

Eugene nodded.

"Yes, sir." He said, fully intending to keep every promise he'd made within the last week, whether it be to Rapunzel, the King, or a child in the streets of Corona.

**A/N: Tada! So how did you like it? Just so ya know, next up is the final chapter, the songfic! I can't believe it! But yeah. Anyway, review!**


	10. Long Live

**A/N: Yay! Final chapter, everyone! I'm a bit sad to see this end, I have to admit. But I'm excited to start something new! **

**And OH. My. GOODNESS! Have yall seen the new poster for the Tangled short? I just about died when I saw it. Literally. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to scream wildly and dance around like a fangirl. So, sitting there and _giggling_ like a fangirl had to suffice. But I got to the screaming wildly part later, when I danced around exclaiming, "They're getting married! They're getting married! They're getting married! And I get to watch it! In spring 2012! They're getting married!" **

**Ahem, anyways. Okay, as you most likely noticed from the rant above about how excited I am, it makes sense that Disney should just let me have Tangled since I love it so much, right? Yeah. Disney is just doesn't have any logic.**

Rapunzel couldn't decide if it had been the fastest or longest week and a half of her life. It seemed like so long ago Eugene had first climbed up her tower, but at the same time, Rapunzel couldn't imagine it being a whole week and a half ago. Either way, one thing was for sure: It had been the best week and a half of her life. At the beginning of it, she'd met Eugene, he'd reluctantly taken her to see the lights, and he'd died, came back to life and returned her. The second part consisted of the announcement to the kingdom of her return and the week-long celebration that followed. And now, she was sitting with Eugene in the castle library's window seat, contemplating the past week and a half.

_I said remember this moment, in the back of my mind  
><em>_The time we stood with our shaking hands_

Rapunzel knew the day her return was announced to the kingdom that she'd forever remember that day – and the few days before it. She remembered how nervous she was, how scared she was that they wouldn't like her, or that she wouldn't know how to rule a kingdom someday.

_The crowds in stands went wild_

But they'd loved her. Rapunzel was as excited and relieved as the rest of the kingdom. She couldn't believe how everything had worked out.

_We were the Kings and the Queens  
>And they read off our names<em>

Rapunzel loved how it felt when her father proclaimed her name – _Princess Rapunzel Aubrianna of Corona_ – and knowing who she was. She was the King and Queen of Corona's daughter – the _Princess_ of Corona. Which meant that someday, she'd be the Queen of Corona, though for now, she was just the princess.

And secretly, she hoped that Eugene would be her prince.

_The night you danced like you knew our lives  
>Would never be the same<em>

Rapunzel knew the "night" a few days ago when they'd danced around the campfire would be one of her favorite memories of her return. True, it wasn't incredible dancing or anything (hence the fact they fell twice), but it didn't matter. They knew they might not have the opportunity to do this again, that their lives would never be the same once Rapunzel was brought back, so they had to make the most of right now.

_You held your head like a hero  
>On a history book page<em>

Rapunzel couldn't help but think sometimes when she saw Eugene that he looked like the heroes from the books they'd read at the library together (in fact, she'd pointed it out to him at the time).

And to her, he _was_ a hero.

He knew more about the world than she did and willingly taught her about it. He took her to see the lights. He saved her from captivity. He died for her. He brought her back to her parents, disregarding the fact he'd probably be killed.

And Rapunzel couldn't imagine anything more heroic than that.

_It was the end of a decade  
>But the start of an age<em>

It was a strange feeling. It was as if the first eighteen years of her life were coming to a close, and a new chapter of her life was beginning as a princess. But she liked it.

You know when Rapunzel left her tower and she started singing about how her life had begun?

Well, she'd realized something since then.

Her life _had_ begun – but she hadn't been living it to the fullest extent. Until now.

_Long live the walls we crashed through  
>How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you<br>I was screaming long live all the magic we made  
>And bring on all the pretenders<br>One day we will be remembered_

_I said remember this feeling  
>I passed the pictures around<br>Of all the years that we stood there  
>On the side-lines wishing for right now<em>

Not long after her return, Rapunzel began showing off her artwork on the back of the Flynn Rider wanted posters and painting the castle walls. When she painted or drew her days in her tower, she loved to sit back and think of how far she'd come since then – only a few days ago, really. She'd been wishing and dreaming to see those lights, wondering when her life would begin, and longing for freedom.

Now, she'd seen the lights, she knew her life had begun, and she was free. Not to mention that she was the Lost Princess and she had Eugene by her side.

_We are the Kings and the Queens  
>You traded your baseball cap for a crown<em>

When Eugene came back with Rapunzel, surprisingly, he was well received by the kingdom and regarded as a hero by most, instead of a thief, which he'd been only days ago. He traded those thieving days of Flynn Rider to be with her, the princess.

_When they gave us our trophies  
>And we held them up for our town<br>And the cynics were outraged  
>Screaming this is absurd<em>

Rapunzel's father had mentioned how against Eugene some of his advisers and guards were when he'd given a brief account of his meeting with the men.

_Cause for a moment a band of thieves  
>In ripped up jeans got to rule the world<em>

They didn't want to think of Eugene – formerly best thief in the kingdom, Flynn Rider – as a hero. They thought _they_ should be the ones called heroes, after all that time trying to chase him down. And they couldn't possibly imagine how the princess could care for the man, much less possibly _marry_ him someday. How could they let their kingdom be partially ruled by a thief?

But it didn't matter. Because to Rapunzel, no matter what anyone else said, Eugene was a hero.

Her hero.

_Long live the walls we crashed through  
>How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you<br>I was screaming long live all the magic we made  
>And bring on all the pretenders<br>I'm not afraid  
>Long live all the mountains we moved<br>I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you_  
><em>I was screaming long live the look on your face<em>

Rapunzel smiled, thinking on she and Eugene's conversation about the looks on each other's faces at various moments of their adventure together. Like when she'd healed his hand with her hair, the smolder (she never had quite figured out what that was all about. She'd have to ask Eugene sometime), or, one of her favorites, his face when he took her hand and started singing with her on the boat.

_And bring on all the pretenders  
>One day we will be remembered<em>

_Hold on to spinning around  
>Confetti falls to the ground<br>May these memories break our fall_

Rapunzel wanted to hold on to all her memories - how Eugene had spun her around so many times after he'd come back to life that she couldn't count, how he'd pulled her under that tree and showed her the "confetti" that would fall to the ground-and when confetti actually did fall to the ground. And she knew they'd always stay with her, and make whatever was to come easier.

_Will you take a moment, promise me this_  
><em>That you'll stand by me forever<em>  
><em>But if God forbid fate should step in<em>  
><em>And force us into a goodbye<br>If you have children some day_  
><em>When they point to the pictures<br>Please tell them my name_

She needed Eugene to keep that promise he'd made to her. She couldn't bear the thought of him leaving, but if he had to, their adventure had to be passed on to someone else.

_Tell them how the crowds went wild  
>Tell them how I hope they shine<em>

They had to know that dreams came true. They had to know that even after eighteen years, a lost princess could be returned – by a former thief, no less. They had to be encouraged that they could shine like those lanterns.

_Long live the walls we crashed through  
>I had the time of my life with you<br>Long, long live the walls we crashed through  
>How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you<br>I was screaming long live all the magic we made  
>And bring on all the pretenders<br>I'm not afraid_

Rapunzel wasn't going to be afraid of what might happen or what people might say. Because who cared? It didn't matter what anyone else thought.

_Singing, long live all the mountains we moved  
>I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you<em>

Rapunzel smiled. Fighting dragons. Moving mountains. Making magic. Escaping and cheating death. They'd done so much of that. But like she told Eugene, she had the time of her life doing it, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

_I was screaming long live the look on your face  
>And bring on all the pretenders<br>One day we will be remembered _

"Eugene? Thank you for saving me." Rapunzel spoke up sleepily. Eugene, being able to tell how tired she was, smiled.

"You're welcome, Blondie." He said softly as he put his arm around her and pulled her close.

Kissing her brown locks as she drifted off, he whispered, "You're worth it."

And it was true. He loved Rapunzel more than he ever imagined he could, and knew he'd do anything for her. He'd go back and die for her again if he had to. All those years at the orphanage, dreaming of being loved and loving someone, saving the Lost Princess (yes, he'd dreamed about heroically saving the Lost Princess, as other boys often did – but he never thought he'd actually do it)…they had been worth it. The wait was well worth it, because she was a princess worth waiting for.

Long live Princess Rapunzel.

Long live the magic they made and the mountains they moved.

Long live all their memories.

Maybe this moment in time wouldn't last forever. Maybe they wouldn't get to be together forever.

And if they didn't, that was okay. Because they'd always have their memories. And they always had these moments right now. No matter what, she would forever be his dream. He'd had the time of his life with her, and she with him, and it didn't matter what anyone else thought. Because one day, they'd be remembered, whether it be by only themselves or the whole kingdom.

Eugene smiled as he whispered the phrase he'd heard all week into Rapunzel's ear, "Long live Princess Rapunzel."

Because she was his life – his world. And as long as Rapunzel was alive, whether or not he was always with her, he knew he would be too.

**A/N: And here we are! So that's the end. Well, okay, for now, anyway. I _may_ come back later and do a little prologue that I had an idea for while I was looking over this...Maybe, we'll see.  
>But anyway, if yall have any ideas of what you'd like to see me write next, feel free to tell me! I'm thinking I'm going to write a story on Eugene and Punzie's first baby (remember how I said in an earlier chapter that the references to Taylor Swift Mine were for an upcoming story? This is it). What do yall think about that? I've got other ideas in my head, too. So I'd love to hear what yall think!<br>Aaaand, review replies!**

**Liz McCallus: Awww, thank you so much! Seriously, that made me feel so happy and inspired! You know how you were saying you were thinking about doing the whole Temporary Home Eugene's backstory thing? I could see you bringing that to life, I think it'd be really good! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**disneyisbeautiful: Haha, yeah, I thought that a frying pan being the reason he couldn't remember would fit with the movie more :) Hahaha, yeeeeees, I agree with you about the whole dream thing. She can't marry Pascal, and I agree, she can't marry some guy without a face (how would they kiss?), so that leaves Eugene, who just happens to have the most adorablest face on earth! And we get to SEEE them get married in Spring 2012! *squee!***

**fryingpanninga107: Haha thank you! I'm glad you liked the explaination! Haha, oh, I love it when things like that happen. Happens to me alot...like the other day when I was shrieking about the Tangled short, and my sister walks into my room and gave me a look very similar to the one Eugene has on his face in the Snuggly Duckling during I've Got a Dream...**

**Wow, these have been long A/N's. But anyway! Make sure to review and tell me whatcha think!**


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